Sand sculptures depict dangers of global warming

Bhubaneswar, March 26 (IANS) Artist Sudarshan Patnaik Wednesday showcased miniatures of Indian heritages along the country’s coastline to highlight the dangers of global warming. The sculptures were showcased in the beach town of Puri in Orissa. Patnaik created the miniatures of the Jagannath temple at Puri, the shore temple at Mammallapuram in Tamil Nadu, and the Gateway of India at Mumbai.

Global environmental NGO Greenpeace joined in to highlight the threat to these sites due to sea level rise induced by global warming.

Greenpeace had released a report called “Blue Alert” Tuesday and warned the Indian government and people of the subcontinent about the massive humanitarian crisis the south Asian region could face if global temperatures rise more than two degrees Celsius.

Patnaik said he used seven tonnes of sand and took almost two days to prepare the seven-foot-high sculptures.

“The issue of global warming is close to my heart. I cannot imagine the kind of ruin the temperature rise would bring to the lives of millions of people,” Patnaik told IANS.

“Flood, drought, water shortage, sea surge all combined would devastate everything we have.

“The impact of climate change is already evident and must not be allowed to go out of control. It chills my spine to even think that Orissa will create four million climate victims as estimated in a report by Greenpeace,” he said.

“Blue Alert - Climate Migrants in South Asia: Estimates and Solutions”, authored by Sudhir Chella Rajan, a professor in the department of humanities and social science in the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Chennai, estimates that nearly 125 million people in India and Bangladesh could be displaced due to rising sea levels.

The report shows if global temperatures rise by about 4-5 degrees Celsius in the course of the century, as they are projected to under the business-as-usual scenario, the south Asian region could face a wave of migrants displaced by the impacts of climate change.

Greenpeace climate and energy campaigner, Vinuta Gopal said: “This is what is at stake if we fail to invest in fighting climate change today. The costs of the crisis are enormous, from whichever angle you look at it.”